The Veteran's cause of death is granted due to service-connected back arthritis and obesity contributing substantially and materially to his Covid-19, which caused pneumonia, acute respiratory syndrome, and multisystem organ failure.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran's obesity was caused by his service-connected back disability, leading to a higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19, resulting in his death.
- Claimed conditions
- back arthritis, obesity
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 16, 2026
- Citation
- A26035965
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation A26035965.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The DIC claim is denied because the Veteran was not rated totally disabled for a continuous period of at least 10 years immediately preceding his death. The service connection issue is remanded due to duty to assist error.
- Granted
The Veteran's diabetes mellitus, type II, is granted on a secondary basis with obesity serving as an intermediate step due to service-connected low back disability, sciatica, and right shoulder disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the cases due to issues with the effective date for service connection and will consider new evidence submitted by the Veteran.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for obesity and obstructive sleep apnea as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected back, left hip, left knee and left lower extremity radiculopathy disabilities.
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